His Fire
by ironavenger22
Summary: Sequel to Her Blood. When Thana is left dying, will Antisepticeye and Darkiplier be able to save her? Also, when the group called the Outsiders begins killing Dark and Thana's old dormmates, will they be able to stop the murderers? Read to find out!


Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! This story is the sequel to "Her Blood"! I am the author (as voiced by the bold words before this), and I have really enjoyed this series. Due to lack of interest and parental conflicts, this may very well be the last fanfiction I write for this series. That being said, be sure to let me know if you enjoyed this! I will write more if I get enough favorites or comments or both. Thank you, and please enjoy!

~Ironavenger22

Warnings: This contains some medical-styled scenes. If you are sensitive to blood, or just do not like that kind of thing, you may not want to read this. Also, this story is about demons, so I will toss around some not-so-correct terms as far as logic things go and such… SO YEAH! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Disclaimers: I do not own Amy, nor Mark, Dark, Jack, Anti, Ethan, or Dr Iplier. However, I do own Thana. Feel free to write more fanfictions about her! Thanks!

Beta Note: Hi. I'm the Bass Beast. I make corrections to this story. Ironavenger has done an amazing job on this story, and we both hope that you like it, too. Look out for anything else on her account, because I'm sure it'll be good. Hope to see you all again!

~Bass Beast

Extra Explanation: So, I felt the need to explain some of this stuff, some of which I became aware of in the writing of this story. Hopefully, this will help close up some loose ends that some people may have. First, Dark can't communicate telepathically. I just found this out from the Bass Beast; he projects his thoughts to be read, but is unable to communicate like Thana or Anti is. Another thing is how demons "die". I have no better way of saying it, so "die" will have to do. Until a demon has a physical being, they stay in the dorms I was saying about, and they don't have a life to lose, if that makes sense. They are dead until they occupy a living body. When they are waiting for a body, they can be terminated, but they do not bleed. They have no body, so no blood. I have them dissolving into ashes soon after being "killed". Obviously, once they get a body (a human host), they bleed and die like a normal human. Also, demons do age. I do not have them getting weaker (like a human does as they age), but rather, they just mature. Hopefully, that explains some of the stuff in here a bit better.

 **Begin Story!!!!!!**

I smiled in the mirror. Blood stained my face, and it trickled still out of my mouth. An unfortunate effect of what I had done with Dark. I picked at the dried bits that surrounded my mouth, and then wandered hack out to the bedroom. Dark and Anti were deep in conversation mentally, and they both turned to look at me as I came closer. My blonde hair was stained in places with red, and I noticed Anti peering closer at me.

"What?" I asked, my voice gravelly.

"Nothing… you just… really took a beating there." He responded, nudging Dark.

"I'm sorry for my actions." Dark commented, blushing and looking down.

"What even happened?" I asked.

"Well, you fixed Dark when I emptied him and-"

"No. Dark, why were you so angry?" I redirected the conversation.

"I just… I…" Dark teleported away to who-knows-where, and I frowned.

"He's sad, that's what." Anti finished for Dark.

"Why?" I still didn't understand what could cause Dark to nearly kill me.

"A rogue demon went through his old dorm and killed a lot of demons. He didn't get there in time. He feels weak… vulnerable." Anti amended.

"So he comes back and tries to kill me?" I asked.

"Yes. I suppose he thought that he would be able to defeat you and give him some of his dignity back." Anti confirmed.

"He needs help." I commented, receiving a nod from Anti.

"So, what now? Are you feeling less pain?" Anti asked.

"Yeah; I eliminated that feeling from my brain right now. Can you go talk to Dark and tell him that I understand?" I said.

"Sure. You need to get fixed up, but I don't know what to say about that." Anti said, then glitched off to find Dark.

I went over to sit down, realizing it was getting harder to breathe. Blood must have been filling my lungs. My eyes had already passed the hazy blur and had made me nearly blind. I really need a surgeon or something, but I knew that I couldn't trust a mortal to work on me. I knew that there were barely any demon doctors, as well, seeing as they were rarely needed. I cried out as pain shot through my body again when I released control of my nerves. There was no reason to waste energy on that if I didn't need to. My eyes teared up, and Anti returned with a very cowed-looking Dark. They both took one look at me, then ran to my side, Anti holding my hand and Dark just sitting aside of me. I moaned as the sofa shifted, my body moving with it. Anti grasped my hand tighter.

I don't know what to do. I need help, but I don't know who to go to. I thought weakly.

We could try to help. Anti offered, and I gave him a weak smile.

I don't know, but thanks. Ethan still needs to be taken care of, so I need to be okay by tomorrow morning. I reminded them.

Right. Forgot about him. Anti commented.

I don't know either. I just feel bad that I did this to you. Dark said, looking at his shoes.

It's okay, Dark. I forgive you. I just need help healing now. I can feel the blood filling my lungs. I grabbed at Dark's hand painfully, and he reached out to meet it, pulling it tight.

You are aware that we are not medically trained at all, right? Anti commented.

No duh. I don't know who to ask. I repeated.

Do you think that if we cover for you, you can heal on your own? Dark asked.

Maybe.We could try it. I replied, wincing as I shifted again.

How about Dr. Iplier? Dark asked, his face brightening.

Can you even get him? I frowned, and Dark teleported away.

I guess that's a yes. Anti smiled at me.

A burst of flame appeared, and Dr. Iplier stumbled out of the blaze, Dark beside him. I smiled, then winced, at the terrified expression on his face. His jacket was all askew, and his hair was crazy. His gaze landed on me, and he rushed over.

"Is this her?" He asked looking over at Dark.

"Yes. Who else? Blood is running from her mouth." Dark nodded back.

"H...i." I groaned.

"We need to get her to my operating theater, quickly!" Dr. Iplier announced.

"I can do that." Anti took over, tightening his hand around mine as he teleported us to the white room full of equipment.

"You will be safe now, miss. But, as of now, I'm sorry. You're dying." He smiled.

"That's just his catchphrase. Don't worry, Thana. You are safe here." Anti assured me, and my vision went dark as I felt a prick in my inner arm.

"Thana? Thana?" I became aware of someone calling my name.

"Wha… what?" I asked, my vision clearing to see Anti leaning over me, Dr. Iplier crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

"How do you feel?" Anti asked, his hand still encasing mine.

"Better. Much… better." I told him, my other hand shaking as I tried to wave at Dark, who was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room.

"Hi." He waved back.

"How… how long was I out?" I asked, trying to sit up, but Anti pushed me back down.

"Not long enough to fully heal." Anti pointed at my stomach, and I looked down.

Blood lined a long incision that was taped shut with clear medical tape. I could see my skin rapidly fusing. I also noted an IV running out of my right arm, and I frowned. Painkillers. Small diodes were attached to my chest and ran to a heart monitor. I yanked them off and undid the IV, pushing away Dr. Iplier.

"I don't need painkillers, and I am very much alive, thank you." I snarled at him, and he backed away slowly.

"This man just saved your life. Don't give him a hard time!" Dark yelled angrily.

"Fine. I'm sorry." I pouted.

"You need to rest for another hour or so, I'm afraid. Even though you are a demon." Dr. Iplier assured me.

"Thank you. Please, can I at least go back to the house?" I asked.

"I guess. Just be careful. You can take the tape off after you've healed."

"Anti or Dark?" I grinned as they both leaped forward to teleport me, both ramming into the bed.

"I'll do it." Dark said, and I felt the warmth of his flames as he returned me to my bed.

"The blood is… gone? When did you clean this up?" I asked.

"Dr. Iplier wouldn't let us in while he was operating, so we cleaned up." Dark confessed.

"Thank you." I snuggled in, feeling the warmth of the blankets as Anti pulled them up to my chest.

"You do know you only have about an hour until you need to be up for Ethan." Anti commented, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I know. I am saddened that I have to go right to work after this, but it needs to happen." I said sadly.

"Shh… close your eyes and relax." Dark said.

I settled down, feeling as my heart rate became less and less loud and rapid. My head began to clear as the insane pounding settled, and my brain no longer felt as if it was going to explode under pressure. I let my eyes roll back into their sockets, basking in the darkness. Anti shuffled over to the loveseat, and I heard the brushing noise of his feet along the floor, my eyes shot back open as there was a squeal as he sat down on the squeaky sofa. I moved my hands down to my stomach, rubbing the tape over the incision. There was no evident cut anymore, and I softly lifted the blanket. The cut was healed! I gently pulled away the tape, then sat up, Dark and Anti both hurrying back over.

"What is it?" Anti asked, worried.

"Nothing! It's healed!" I joyfully proclaimed, getting up.

"Good, because we need to leave. Ethan will be up any minute now, and I would rather not have to explain why we're here." Dark said, grabbing Anti and teleporting both of them away.

"Bye…" I said belatedly, and then went to wash up.

I turned on the shower, then went to grab an exact match of what I had worn yesterday to film; a shredded tee and ripped jeans. I hung them on the sink and slipped into the shower. The hot, steamy water cascaded over my shoulders, washing away traces of blood and the disgusting burnt smell that had decided to nest in my hair. I snatched the bottle of shampoo/conditioner and squirted it into my palm, massaging it into my scalp. The bubbles ran down my chest, and I watched them disappear into the drain. I then put body soap onto my torso, rubbing it in, and shaved. Once all the soap had run off of my body, I turned off the water and got out. Then, drying off, I threw on my clothing. I grabbed the hairdryer and blew hot air through my hair until it was dry, running a brush through it as well. Soon, I looked good again and exited my room, running into a refreshed-looking Ethan.

"Food on the go?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Let's do it."

We arrived at Dark's place, coffee cups in hand. I took a sip of mine and felt the now-familiar rush of adrenaline. Smiling, I went into the room we were filming in and set my cup on the middle table. I went over to the camera and began powering it up and connecting it up to the laptop that the video today would be saved to. I noted a sleepy-looking Dark enter the room, holding a soda bottle in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. He already had on his makeup, and it smeared with his hand.

Why do you look so tired? I was the one who nearly died last night! I projected to Dark, and his head snapped up.

Yeah, you weren't the only one. Dark added cryptically.

What was that supposed to mean? I asked.

You don't seem to understand the weight of what you did then. Dark snarled back at me.

We broke his mind. Anti had snuck into the conversation, and I lurched in surprise.

What? I… We… What? I was so confused.

You weakened my mind, and Anti broke it. I had to pull all the pieces back together, and it only barely worked. Dark seemed to be accusing me.

Company. Anti alerted us.

I hurried back to the camera just in time to see Ethan enter out of the corner of my eye, followed by Anti. He, unlike Dark, looked very energetic. I grinned at him, but he did not return the gesture.

"Amy, I'm going to have you help film Mark's part. We'll do him first, then we'll do Jack, seeing as they both have their makeup on already. Hopefully they will give you an idea as to what to do when it comes to your turn." Ethan told me.

"Please tell me I don't have to stand here as Jack jerks his upper body at me." Dark commented.

"No… That didn't go well on Darkiplier vs Antisepticeye, I don't know why it would work now. I mean, unless you think that you could handle it." I said.

"I think that, if anyone, I would burst out laughing at the insanity of the look on Mark's face." Anti smiled.

"Okay. Mark, you ready?" Ethan asked, and Dark nodded.

"I'll get the low-angle shot if you want to do the straight-on." I said to Ethan.

"Sounds good to me." He agreed and went over to the chest-height camera. I went to the lower one.

"Whenever you're ready." I said, settling in.

I saw Dark give a thumbs-up and hit the record button. I saw it show up on the laptop and gave a thumbs-up back, and so did Ethan. Good; both cameras were working. Anti held the clapperboard up in front of Ethan's lense, then mine, and called "ACTION". Dark started off by facing away, then turned to face the camera. His cold eyes seemed to stare deeply into my soul, and I felt the urge to shiver. He got this dark and dangerous smile on his face. It reminded me of the one I had made in my first video. I saw Ethan cue Dark that he was ready for Dark to speak.

"Hello, humans." He said it so icily that I almost pulled away to cower in fear.

"Why do you study this weak and pathetic creature that you call Markiplier? He is making you all so dependent on him; so weak, so vulnerable. You are all capable of doing much more influential things than you currently abide in. I am stronger, I am bigger, I am greater. Follow me; I can help you overpower your inner shortcomings. I will be the remedy to your failures. I will be the one." Dark snarled at the camera. It was as if he was not quite inviting the viewer to join him, but threatening them if they did not.

Ethan gave a thumbs-up, and Dark turned stiffly and walked out of frame. Perfect, I thought with a smile. Goosebumps ran up and down my arms, and I imagined that the viewer would feel the same potency in Dark's words. His actions backed him up, and I was very aware of the intensity of what we had just captured. I was surprised that Ethan wasn't collapsed on the floor in anxiety. Then again, he thought that Dark wasn't real; that Dark was just some figment of his imagination that could be recreated by throwing some black makeup on your face, wearing a suit, and adding glitched shadows to the finished product. He wasn't like that, but we had avoided scaring Ethan for fear of not finding another cameraman.

"Great job, Mark! You really made me shiver there. Next, Jack? I mean, we can continue with Mark, but I figured I would give you a bit of time to act too." Ethan said, looking between Dark and Anti proudly.

"Sure." Anti grinned and stepped into view of the cameras.

"Andddd… Action." Ethan said.

Anti had a bit more work to do than dark. He bobbed his upper body around in all directions, hoping to give Ethan something to work with for the glitched effect. I knew that it would have been easier to just glitch the camera like he could do naturally, but again, we tried not to scare off any possible future accomplices. After about 5 minutes of jerking around, Ethan decided that he had enough material and gestured for Anti to continue. Anti remained in his place and began speaking.

"You mortals are weak, just as this body," he gestured to himself, "once was. You think that you are almighty beings who can overcome anything. Well I have news for you; you are not. You do not fear us, the ones who could terminate your existence. You rely on your own strength, your own abilities, your own being. All you think is that you are the best, the greatest, the strongest. You. Are. Not."

I didn't get as much of a chill from Anti as I had gotten from Dark, but it still made me feel weak and vulnerable. I waved Anti on.

"We are the ones. We are able to break you down in one glance. We can make you die inside, make you feel like the things you truly are; insignificant little specks. You are so weak, so fragile. We are not. We are the demons. We will destroy you!" Anti screamed, then fell forward onto a crash mat we had put in front of his place earlier.

"PERFECT!" I applauded, and Ethan joined in.

"I want to see you go now, though. I mean, would you mind putting on your makeup, Amy?" Ethan turned to me.

"Sure! D- Mark, would you mind manning this camera?" I asked.

"Actually, I thought you would be more comfortable just doing this in front of Mark and Jack. I was thinking that I would leave and give you less to worry about." Ethan offered.

"That would be great. Can I just edit my part on my own?" I asked, and got a nod.

I hurried off to the bathroom to put on the makeup. I uncovered my eye, and splattered on the fake blood. Adding the dark makeup under my eyes, I hurried out to meet up with the others again. They both gave smiles at my appearance, and I slid into frame. I relaxed, then gave a thumbs-up to Dark, who was on the main camera.

"That was a good idea; telling Ethan that you would edit your own stuff. Now you can let yourself glitch the cameras and can do your dark energy thing." Dark said.

"Sounds good. You ready?" I asked, and they both nodded.

I started by looking at the ground, and then let my energy loose as I looked up slowly. I noticed Anti pulling back a little, and I instantly knew that I was giving the desired effect; pure terror. I put a small, devious smirk on my face. Anti pulled back even more, and Dark shivered a little. I opened my mouth, and the words began to spill out of my mouth.

"Welcome back to the realm of evil. Or, sorry, you are not welcome. Only the strong are allowed here. I am strong, Dark is strong, Anti is strong. You. Are. Not. You think that I am unable to get you. You think that we are only visual effects, only a thing that can be easily recreated on your own laptops. You are wrong. You could recreate the visual aspect, but you can't recreate us. You can't recreate the evil. We are power. You. Are. Weak. We will destroy you. Beware, mortals. We are coming." I snarled at the cameras.

As I walked off, Dark gave a thumbs-up. I "turned off" the black energy, and smiled back. I rolled my shoulders, loosening up, then called for Ethan. I pulled my card out of the camera and put it in my pocket to "edit". Ethan pushed his back into the slot, then nodded to me.

"How did you do?" Ethan asked.

"I think I did pretty well." I said joyfully, then picked my coffee back up.

"Isn't that cold by now?" Dark frowned.

"Not really. It's okay." I took a sip. It still energized me, despite the fact that it was not as warm as it had once been.

"Well, I think it's time for lunch. What should we do?" Anti asked.

"Umm… we could order a pizza?" Ethan offered.

"We could. I don't know. We could also, you know, go somewhere." Dark said, ruffling the collar of his suit.

"No… we should eat here. I don't want to take off my makeup to eat. Let's just call in a pizza." I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Pepperoni?" Ethan pleaded.

"No. One pepperoni, one cheese." I corrected him, then walked off to order.

I heard them arguing in the background as I placed the order, getting two liter sodas to go with it. They said that it would arrive in half an hour, and I warned them that we were taping something, and therefore, looked a bit creepy. The operator assured me that it was okay, then hung up. I returned to the conversation. Ethan was picking on Dark, and I could tell that Dark was trying very hard not to incinerate him. I smiled a bit, then pulled Ethan away, to the obvious relief of Dark and a nervous Anti.

"So, are you planning to record anything else today?" I asked.

"Yeah… I was planning on doing a group bit, but if we don't get to it, that's fine. I also wanted to work on editing the clips we did today." Ethan went full camera geek at that point, explaining how he was planning to work his magic on the bokeh of the image, and the exposure.

"Okay, okay, okay. Chill out. So, I say we eat, record a little more, then go and edit?" I asked, hoping that he would agree.

"Sounds good to me." Ethan grinned.

I pulled away to see Anti gesturing at Dark. Dark seemed really angry for some reason, and I had to hope that he would not go full-out Firetwister like he had last time. I never wanted to do that again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan wander over to a sofa and collapse, laptop in hand. I assumed that he would be editing some of the stuff he had taped. I took a wide berth around Dark and Anti, and, grabbing my laptop, sat down on the sofa opposite Ethan. I would pretend that I was editing also, I decided, and slipped in my earbuds. Nightcore music assaulted my ears, and I nodded my head to the beat.

I pushed the card into the slot on the side of the computer, enjoying the whirring vibrations of the card reader booting up. A small window opened up, and I pushed the clip onto the editing program I had already opened. Time to have some fun.

I had just decided I had spent enough time "editing" when I heard the doorbell. I ripped out the earbuds, threw aside my laptop, and shot up. Running to the door, my stomach let out a huge growl. I pulled open the door, and a very startled pizza man nearly fell off of the porch. Completely forgot the makeup, I mentally pounded myself. The man's eyes were wide, and he was literally shaking.

"I'm so, so sorry. I so did not mean to scare you like that." I apologized profusely, but not so sincerely, to the terrified guy.

"It's- I'm okay. I knew that you guys were filming. I just was surprised. Here's your pizzas. Umm… do you have the money?" He asked, holding out the pizzas.

"Yeah," I said, digging in my pockets, "Here you go."

"Thanks. Break a leg." He grinned, then returned to his vehicle.

I bent down and picked up the sodas and the steaming boxes, shuddering at the amazing smell that was escaping from them. I wished that I could have killed that pizza man, but that would not have been a great idea. Unlike many thought, we demons did not kill without thinking it through. I closed the door behind me, and had to push away both Anti and Ethan, who were crowding around me like starved children would around a kind woman holding bread. I guess I was holding bread, and they were sort of starving, but I was by no means a kind woman. I shoved Anti harshly, and he stumbled away. Ethan backed away wide-eyed, and I sashayed over to the table confidently. Dark sat there, patiently waiting to eat. Finally, somebody smart. I opened the boxes and Dark picked out a slice of each.

Ethan rushed into the room, Anti staggering after him. Anti looked like he had hit his head; a little trickle of blood coming from the back of his scalp. His eyes were a little glazed as well, but he still snatched up pizza and began shoving it into his mouth. Ethan did the same, but the terrified look reappeared when he looked at me. Once they were all absorbed in eating, I pulled out some pizza of my own, and took a bite of pure, greasy bliss. Ethan returned to the table to get another slice, and I apologized to him.

"What was that?" Ethan asked, fear tinting his voice.

"It was my anger getting out of hand. Sorry." I repeated the apology.

"I forgive you." He gave me a smile.

Dark looked at me strangely when Ethan turned his back, and I shrugged. What did he want me to say? Suddenly, I remembered Anti. I found him on the sofa in the main room, rubbing his head gingerly. When he heard me enter, he turned his face toward me and snarled. I backed away, not wanting to cause myself or him any harm. He nodded, satisfied by my actions. I wandered back into the other room and over to my laptop again. Then, I went through my video clip again, asking Ethan what light levels he had used, as well as what blur ratio and exposure I should set the video to. He gladly offered the information I needed, and I quickly set the clip to match his.

Compared to what I saw on Ethan's screen, my work was a masterpiece. Mind you, I had given myself a bit of a lead by using my natural abilities to my advantage. As I played mine for him, I could tell that his attention was captured almost instantly, and I had to smile at how well I had done. When the video was over, he looked at me in awe.

"How did you do that?" He squealed weakly.

"I just… did my magic." I replied.

"Okay… would you mind taking one of these other clips to work on?" He asked politely, hoping that I would do some of his work.

"Um… Maybe tomorrow? Today's pretty much over." I pointed at my watch.

"Ohhh… 5:30 already? Well, I guess I need to pack up. If you can go find Mark and Jack, that would be great. Let them know that they can take off their makeup." Ethan nudged me off of the sofa.

I took his "subtle" hint and got up with a quiet groan. There was still some pain that I hadn't noticed earlier. Stumbling, I wandered over to where I had last seen Anti, and I found him aside of Dark on the loveseat in the parlor area. I backed away a little at the sight of them so close together, but they pulled away quickly when they saw me. I gave a little wave at them, and they looked at each other strangely. I frowned, walking towards them.

"What?" I asked, watching both of them back away.

"Uh… why are you… here?" Anti stammered awkwardly.

"I was told to tell you guys to take off your makeup. We're done for the day." I looked them over, making sure that nothing extremely wrong was going down.

"O-ok. We can do that." Dark quickly composed himself, shoving off of Anti to stand up.

"Yep. Bye." Anti tried to get me to go away.

"What were you two just doing?" I asked, watching Dark tug on the bottom of his suit coat to straighten it out.

"Something that does not involve you." Anti said.

"Yes, how about you and Ethan leave now. We will see you tomorrow." Dark pushed me out of the room, and closed the door behind him. I let it go, wandering over to Ethan. I had already de-makeuped my face, so I was ready to go.

"You ready to head out? Mark and Jack said we should just go without them." I waved Ethan out the door, seeing his frame contorting with the weight of his equipment.

"Want some help with that?" I asked, and Ethan nodded.

I took a large bag and slung it over my shoulder, feeling it's somewhat comforting weight. What had they been doing in there? I decided I did not want to know. I opened the trunk of my car and put in the stuff I was carrying. Ethan dumped in his stuff as well. Pushing a button on my controller, the trunk hatch shut on it's own. I went to the driver's seat and buckled up, looking behind me as I backed out onto the road. Ethan played around with the radio settings, and soon music was blasting from the speakers. I could literally feel the seats vibrating with the bass.

Personally, the kind of music that shook your vehicle was worth listening to. Most other music was either too slow for my taste, or it was just pointless. Most of the lyrics were stupid, too, and often made no sense. Who cared what people do when they are alone? Who cares if your boyfriend dumped you? I sure didn't. I let my body relax into the shaking seats as I stopped at a stoplight. Looking over, Ethan also seemed to be relaxed; his facial features melted in pure bliss. The light turned green and I pulled out, looking both ways.

Finally, we arrived at my house. I pulled into my driveway and turned off the radio. Ethan shot up in his seat, surprised by the sudden silence. I removed the key from the ignition, and he opened his door. I did as well, running back to the trunk and opening it to take back out the equipment. Ethan told me to leave everything except his laptop in the car for the next day, and I agreed. No point in carrying things more than I needed to.

We entered the house, and I sat down in the living room. Ethan sat beside me, and I half cringed, half smiled. I hadn't scared him too badly earlier, which made me happy. However, he was sitting next to me. Next to me. Guh. I didn't move, though. Instead, I just stayed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and unlocking the screen. Today, my background was a puppy. I looked at it fondly, reminding myself that I really needed to love on the late Mark's Chica sometime. Looking over, I saw that Ethan, too, was on his phone. He had his earbuds in and was bobbing his head ever so slightly.

I poked his shoulder, pointing to my screen. He smiled, then looked at me expectantly. When he was satisfied that I wanted nothing else, he returned to his phone, his head going back into bobblehead stage. I shook my head with a smile, getting up and signaling him to take out his earbuds. He did.

"I'm gonna go to sleep early, I think. So… Goodnight, I guess." I told him, and he nodded in reply.

"Yep. Goodnight." He smiled, still relaxed as I walked out.

Entering my room, I shut the door behind me. I took a moment to bask in the silence. It had been such a loud day, I realized. Going to the dorm wasn't exactly my idea of a good time right now, but it was necessary. If Dark's dorm had been massacred, then it was likely that mine had a chance of being destroyed, too. Laying on my bed, I closed my eyes and teleported my soul to my old home.

I appeared in my bed again. That was my "safe spot" to port to; nobody would ever be there except for me. As I got up, however, I noticed that something was… off. Often, you could hear the noises of the lobby from my room, but for some reason, today I could not. Silence was all I could hear. And that was saying something; demons had acute senses. I stood, ear to the door, trying to hear something. Whimpering. I could hear quiet, distant whimpering. Demons did not have heartbeats, so I heard none of them. There was a slight crunching of feet, and I froze. The feet stopped, then continued forward. I summoned up the black energy and hovered away from the door, not making a noise.

The footsteps stopped again, closer now. I tried to calm myself, preparing for the worst. Then, I shot forward, opening the door and flying out like a black bullet. A demon stood down the hall several feet, flames licking at his body. His body twisted to see me, giving me a glimpse of the insanity in his eyes. So our suspect is male, I told myself, then came up with an idea. I hid away the energy; ready to use, but not too far from reach. I lowered my head, almost submissively, and slowly came closer to the Firetwister. He shied away a little, but I kept going.

"I won't hurt you." I told him gently, almost whispering.

"Yes, yes you will. All will hurt me. You are no exception." His voice wavered.

"No, I promise. I won't." I inched closer, palms up.

Dark, I found your killer. Assistance may be required in a bit.

Okay. I'm ready whenever. The link went through faster than I was expecting, and Dark replied.

"Everyone… no exception… pain… I… alone…" He stammered, seeming confused.

"It's okay, I'm he-"

"NO! YOU ARE TRICKING ME!" His fire raged.

I crossed my arms to shield myself and summoned the energy back as he shot flames at me. The energy was too slow! I knew that it would not be there in time. Bracing myself, I prepared to be burnt to a crisp. At the last second, Dark appeared in front of me and caught the fire in his hand. It shimmered, then went out in a little puff of smoke. Dark looked up, his fire burning now. I summoned up the energy fully, and noted that the demon shuffled away. Dark looked to me with a smile, and I winked.

"I won't hurt you. Not yet. But I have a friend who would be more than willing." I snarled, and Dark rushed in, fire consuming all in his path.

The other demon gathered fire up. It looked almost magical when they collided. Sparks shot from between them, and their fire burned almost twice as bright as before, both being supercharged by the other's attack. I had heard of how Firetwisters often lost control, but this was the first time I had seen anything like it. I saw Dark's fire slip away from his body, and the confident look on his face reassured me that he knew what he was doing. The other looked in awe as the fire morphed into a being of its own. It dodged and weaved as the attacks came, but always protected Dark. At first, it had seemed like a dumb move, but now I had different ideas. The other demon seemed to be tiring, his movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.

Dark, however, seemed to be just warming up. His fire was still swirling, attacking, almost eating the second Firetwister whole. I smiled, enjoying the feeling of winning. I may have not done much, but I knew that I had helped Dark cope with his pain. The pain of his family being killed. His fire conjoined back to his body, but he showed no signs of being tired by the action he had just done. Instead, he rushed forward, pummeling the demon with his fire-coated fists, and I could hear the demon crying out in surrender.

Dark. He's had enough. All I had to do was give the command, and he instantly listened, pulling back slightly.

He's all yours. I walked forward, giving him a small nod.

"Do you surrender?" I asked, the offender nodding furiously.

"I… I do… I… Ugh!" He shot forward again, his flame pulling him along like a rag doll as it did it's own will.

"I'm sorry for this ahead of time." I apologized, my energy flaring up.

I pushed it out, encasing the demon in a ball of solid energy. He threw fire at it, also pounding his fists into it, but he did not succeed in getting out. My energy was too strong, too ready to comply to only my will. I made the capsule smaller and smaller, closing in on the demon, then immobilizing him. Soon, his fire puttered out, no longer having any oxygen to fuel it. I could tell that the demon was trying to restart it as his face scrunched up into a concentrated scowl. Slowly, though, I could tell that he was beginning to give up. The lack of oxygen did not bother him, as I had assumed it would not. He was a demon; physical restrictions did not limit him much.

I looked over at Dark with a nod to tell him that I would let go. He nodded back in affirmation, and I called back the energy. I saw Dark summon up his own fire again, and the other demon did as well. I frowned a little, amazed by this demon's stupidity. Did he not realize that I was still there? I used my energy to put out his flames again. He looked at me, anger shining in his eyes. I gave a pleasant smile back. Again and again, he tried to start his fire, and again and again, I would put it out. Eventually, he just began to target me. I put up a wall of energy and continued putting him out. I could tell that my energy was fading, however, but I kept using my energy. Dark hopefully had enough of his power to port us home. If not, I was sure that I could convince another demon to do it for me.

"I will be back for my revenge!" The demon shouted at me and Dark, obviously tired of my ability to stop his flames. He ported out of existence, leaving behind something. It was a little index card with a symbol on it that I recognized. It was almost like a house on a stick; the symbol for fate. It was a Chinese symbol, one that I had learned about by the notorious team of rouge demons called The Outcasts. Their goal was to destroy all demonkind; that, or take them over. Particularly, they attacked demons close to gaining a physical form.

I knew that I was in that small group, and I was willing to bet that they had been targeting our dorm groups to get to us. My dorm mates. I suddenly remembered them. Were they destroyed, or had they fought off the intruder? I noticed that Dark, too, had a concerned expression. I ran down the hall and down the stairs to the main lobby. I saw a little bit of movement from my corner, and I ran over to it. A few young female demons were huddled in the corner, shaking as they clutched onto each other. I guessed that they were about 15, one of the youngest in the dorm. I came closer, and they shrank back, fear still shining in their eyes.

"It's okay. I'm a friend. You are safe now; he is gone." I tried to comfort them, "Did you see where the rest of the girls got to?"

"Yeah… I… I did…" The one girl spoke up.

"Where? Are there any other survivors?" I noticed the tears in their eyes.

"A few went down to the lounge, but we heard screaming, so I don't know if they are still… you know…" Another girl said, choking up.

"Well, you girls relax. I'll go check it out and let you know what happens." I hugged them, then set off to the lounge.

The lounge was where all the indoor games were; the pool tables, ping pong (also referred to as gnip gnop), foosball, air hockey, and shuffleboard to name a few. It also led to the tennis court, the basketball court, the softball field, and the pool. It was pretty much the place to go and party. The lounge also held a massive flat-screen television, dozens of jet-black sofas, stained wood side tables, a bunch of mini fridges, cabinets, and even a few microwaves. It rarely held less than 20 demons, and it was only that low on a Tuesday night. For some reason, everyone slept on Tuesdays. Not any other night, really, but always Tuesday.

As I entered, I immediately knew that either everyone was terrified, or they were all dead. There was no noise at all. I looked around, taking in the smashed games, the slashed wallpaper. There were a few demons hanging around the edges, acting exactly like the girls in the lobby. One was even cradling the head of a dying demon. I knew to stay away. There were piles of ash from dead demons, and I counted 12 survivors hiding in nooks and crannies. Not many. I informed them that it was safe now, but most of them remained in corners, still in shock. I didn't blame them. A Firetwister's work could be quite grotesque. I had seen it firsthand, after all.

Dark was no longer following me. I think he had wandered away, a little embarrassed by the fact that he was in the girls' area. I understood. Running back into the lobby, I passed by the still-confused younglings. I told them that there were a few survivors. They gave me a small smile, then returned to their small group to chatter. I passed by them, seeing Dark leaning on the wall in the corner. He looked nervous.

What's up? I asked, and his gaze settled on me.

I think you know. I could now see small tears in his eyes as I looked closer.

You're right. I think I know. How about we go to my room? We can sit and chat there. As soon as I offered, he agreed.

I led him over to my hall, the one we had started in. The carpet was now scorched, something I knew would make the maids very mad. Thankfully, I could now hear stirring in the other rooms, so I knew that he hadn't quite gotten far enough to kill the early sleepers. I pulled the key for my door out of my pocket and unlocked the door. Usually, I would leave my room open, but the situation had changed my mind at the time. The door slipped open, and I walked in, Dark close on my heels. I closed the door behind me, hanging the key by the door.

"Wow…" Dark breathed, taking in the dark themes, the posters, everything.

"Yeah. I love this place." I smiled, and he briefly nodded.

"I can see why. This is so similar to my old dorm." He brushed his hand gently along the wall, his eyes fluttering closed.

"What is so special about this room?" I asked, seeing his love for it shine through.

He yanked back his hand, and said, "Nothing. It's… no. Nothing."

"Okay. I won't force you to tell me." I rolled my eyes, wandering into the main area of the room.

"It's just… I didn't ever imagine it to be like this." I saw a little tear slip out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly brushed it away.

"Imagine what?" At this point, I was concerned for him. I had never seen him this… sad was the wrong word. More like… distressed.

"I just… this is… was… just like home. I mean, I guess it is gone now, but you shouldn't really care about that. I can handle it on my own." He cleared his throat, and I could tell that he was trying to man up.

"It's okay. Some memories will never die. Give it some time. And if it helps, you can take this room as your own as well." I offered.

"No… no. That would bring up unwanted memories." He wiped away another tear, just like he was trying to wipe away the painful past. It would keep coming back, an annoyance that would not be satisfied.

"It will be okay. At least we now know who we can stop. Who we are hunting." I assured him, reaching into my pocket to retrieve the index card.

"The Outcasts." We looked into each other's eyes, and Dark ported us back to the mortal world.

Anti's eyes widened as we appeared in front of him. Dark's tears were long gone, and we were both in our sparring gear from the dorms. Dark's had had a moon on the chest piece, but it had been replaced by a flame when he put it back on. It was programmed to change it's emblem to whatever type of demon you were. Boys began as moons, and girls began as suns. Both provided light, a "weakness" that demons hated. It showed an immaturity, but now it held the symbol of power. Mine had been a sun, and it was now a swirl of purplish black that wrapped around my torso. It matched my energy. The rest of the armor was the same, just as I had remembered from the sparring sessions that I used to fight.

Sparring was a required class, and select "students" were used in monthly battles. I was often in those sessions to, as my teacher said, bring out my inner power. It never worked. Often, I would end up scarred and injured, too weak to retaliate. Then, they would call out that the fight was over and that I lost. Eventually, I had begun taking karate as self-defense. It allowed me to at least win against the other powerless demons, and the occasional powered demon. Either way, this armor brought up a few painful and good memories.

Dark, too, seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Anti was looking at us strangely. I smiled, but he remained in his confused state. I nudged Dark to get his attention, and he turned to look at me. I pointed to Anti. He got a look of recognition, then turned to face Anti.

"So… who are you going to battle?" Anti asked, "Or were you two sparring?"

"The Outcasts. They attacked my dorm now." I told him.

"I probably should keep an eye on my dorm, seeing as all this attacking stuff has been going on." Anti looked concerned.

"Yeah… that, or you could join us…" I offered.

Anti smiled, "No. I think I need to stay and explain why you two are gone. I will probably glitch your car over here so that I can explain a little better."

"Right, right… Well, we will be gone for awhile, so…" Dark shied away.

"We will hopefully return. Wish us luck." I smiled, then hugged Anti. He seemed surprised, but didn't pull away as I had half expected him to.

"Good luck guys." Anti said once I had pulled away.

"See you soon." Dark nodded to Anti, and he nodded back.

I felt the warm fire surround my body as Dark teleported us outside the Outsider's base. We were shielded from sight by a pile of crates. I peered around to see their hideout. It was a large warehouse, apparently abandoned for a while. I could see the bits of metal added to the sides, filling in the larger holes. Two sentries stood outside the gigantic front door. They both held staffs of pure energy, and I could hear them crackling with intense power. Both sentries wore what looked like advanced sparring gear; it was reinforced with a dark metal, and the same energy that covered their staffs covered the armor in spirals. I had no idea how they kept from accidentally shocking themselves, but that was not mine to judge. If they were able to pull that off, that meant that they were pretty dangerous. We would have to be really careful around them. Not that I question Dark and my ability to take them out, but I didn't want to be injured in the process of taking the Outsiders… out, for lack of a better way to put it. I scooted back behind the crates as one of them turned our direction.

Two armed guards. We need to take them out. Both have this… energy surrounding them. I worry that there may be more. I told Dark, then read his mind.

We can take them, no problem. Ready? Dark asked, his fire lighting his body.

GO! I told him, the energy coming easily to me.

I ran around one side of crates, Dark around the other, and we attacked. I hadn't needed to worry, as we were able to attack from a far range, and the guards seemed armed for close combat. I searched through the pockets of the one, energy surrounding my hand to protect me from the shock of the still-buzzing electricity. Pulling out a small security card, I nodded to Dark. He gave a small smile, and I waved him after me. I entered the doors, coming face-to-face with five more of the sentries and another door where the keycard was required. I also noticed a security camera up by the peak of the roof, and I shut it down with my power. Dark was taking out the guards quickly, and I had just enough time to take out the last one as Dark finished off the other four.

"Ready?" I whispered, and Dark nodded again.

I slid the keycard into the slot, and a few small lights lit up on the door indicating it was open. It slid open heavily as I pushed on it. Dark followed close behind me. I could now see that the warehouse was split into two, possibly three floors, because the ceiling had lowered. I snuck forward, then ran quietly behind what looked like a receptionist. I sliced off her head with the energy, and her form dissipated into ashes. I powered down the cameras in the small entry area, then opened the door with the same keycard. Several sentries lined the halls, which reminded me of my dorm. Not the sentries, but the way the hall was set up, mind you.

Dark rushed forward incinerating the first few sentries rapidly. I took out the next few via decapitation (the coolest-looking method I knew), and smiled as the heads bounced once before turning to ash. Quickly, the hall was emptied of all guards, and I opened the first door. It was an empty room, a meeting room by the looks of it. I closed the door again, then nodded to Dark, who was standing at the next door, opposite side of the hall, hand on the doorknob. He opened it, and I ran in. Unlike the last room, it was full of demons. I put up a shield of energy as they ll began to attack. I counted nine demons total.

I can close them in if you want to take them one at a time. I offered.

Nah, I got this. Take down the shield. Dark thought.

I knew that Dark was being reckless, but I was the younger, less experienced demon in this situation. So, I let it happen. I pulled away the shield from him, but made sure to leave enough for me to use for myself. Dark leaned forward, embracing the attack coming at him. There was ice, which didn't seem to faze him, a wolf, which he smacked senseless, and several others. Within no time, I had helped him take down all of the demons. We walked out of the now ash-coated room confidently. Well, I was confident. Dark seemed almost cocky. I hoped that wouldn't lead to a disaster. I should have stopped him then, but I had no clue what was soon going to happen. So I let him go. We cleared out the rest of the rooms, some of which were conference rooms, but most were bedrooms, then went up the staircase at the end of the hall. The next floor was their hub of work.

A large screen was in the front of the room, data flowing across it. Dozens of demons wearing headsets were facing toward it at workstations, and there was a male demon up front, looking down at a laptop on the metal desk that stood before him. His eyes slid up to face me and Dark, and I knew that we were in danger. Both of the male's eyes were dark, like mine and Anti's were. He pointed to us, and all the demons turned in sync to face us. I frowned, but took up the same fighting stance as Dark had. Wordlessly, the demons began moving forward, pushing their chairs out of the way as they came in our direction. I put up a bubble of energy, but it didn't hold back some of the Shapeshifters that used their molecular telepathy to move through the floor. Dark began lighting some of the demons on fire, but it didn't take out enough at a time.

We can do this, I told myself as I felt my sparring gear toughen up to deflect an icicle. Dark was bobbing and weaving around the projectiles being shot in his direction, but I had little time to watch him as more demons came past my shield. I decided to let it down and started beheading, dismembering, and stabbing the offending demons until they were ashes. I felt too slow, though. Instead of gaining ground, we were losing it. They kept coming and coming. I could tell that Dark was being pushed into a corner, and that he was getting annoyed with the constant attacks. I agreed; it was a pain in the butt. However, we had set out to take them down, and a few weak demons wouldn't get in our way.

In an effort to avoid being trapped, I pushed forward into the masses of demonic attackers. A few tried to get at me from behind, but the sparring gear held them back. Using the energy to make myself a long sword, I began attacking. I spun around to take out the demons behind, then returned the other way to take down the few dumber demons that thought they could succeed in taking me down from behind; as if the last few that had tried weren't example enough. Two demons seemed to be coordinating their attacks, both coming from opposite directions towards me, knives pointing out. They apparently knew the flaw of the armor. Two attacks at the same time from both sides would disable the sparring gears ability to harden, therefore its ability to protect me would be null. I just teleported out of the way, and I saw their terrified faces as they stabbed each other. They both looked at each other apologetically, then fell to the ground as the spark dissipated from their eyes.

Smart move. I guess we need to be careful about the few smart ones in here. Dark projected his thoughts, and I read them clearly.

Yeah. The guy in the front looks a bit dangerous, too. I told him, and he nodded.

Dark continued throwing flame, but wasn't doing the stunt I had seen him pull earlier; the one where he would detach the fire from himself. It seemed like that was only for one on one fights. Somehow, he had managed to set several on fire again, and they were running around and setting others on fire, and so on. I could swear that the lead demon was facepalming, but I was pulled away from that as I began being attacked again. I noted that we had taken out almost two thirds of the group, and half of the ones remaining were too distracted by the fact that they were on fire to attack. I easily took down the remaining few, and by then the flaming ones were no longer. Dark and I met up in the center aisle between the work tables and began moving in on the single demon left; the one with two empty eyes.

I had no clue as to what both eyes did, but I was unsure as to if I wanted to know. I asked Dark if I should inhabit the demon's body, but he informed me that, for all I knew, he could destroy my soul inside his body. That would be quite unpleasant. Preferably, I would be able to live another day in Amy's body. We came closer to the demon, and I averted my eyes from his as to protect myself from whatever they may be capable of doing.

"Who are you?" Dark asked, causing the demon to grin a little.

"Truly, you need not know who I am. Who you are, that may be more important." I saw Dark shudder out of the corner of my eye.

He can make you forget… everything… for a short burst of time… Dark projected haltingly.

"Yes… you understand little of the things I can do and see… that is but one of my many abilities." He chuckled softly to finish the creepy statement.

"Let's see, I think I can name a few of your 'abilities'; able to recruit weak employees, able eavesdrop, able to look incredibly stupid, able to act superior while being really stupid, able to-"

"SHUT UP! You think that you can be better just because you have a host. You are not any better than the rest of us. I will take you down, I will dominate, I will leave you two in pain or kill you. The only thing I have to fear from you two is a mess."

"Why do the bad guys always give a speech?" Dark asked.

"Technically, I could give a speech, seeing as I am just as evil as he is. I just do it better." I smiled at the reddening face of the lead demon.

"I DON'T CARE!!! My point is, you are weak and overconfident. Like I will prove."

I saw something coming at me and Dark, but it was going too fast for me to put up a shield to stop. I saw Dark's fire leave his body, and it came over to protect me. Dark jerked, then crashed to the floor as the projectile hit him and the fire. His fire had saved me. I rushed towards the surprised demon and ran him through with the sword of energy I was carrying. He gasped, then dissipated into a pile of ash anticlimactically. Well that was easier done than said. But then I remembered Dark. Running back to him, I was glad to see that he was still alive- barely. I noticed a blowdart of some kind embedded in his jugular, and I yanked it out. Whatever it contained leaked out onto my hand, and I rubbed it on my shirt quickly, then tore off a piece of shirt to wrap it in. If it was dangerous, it would be good to know what he had been exposed to.

"Dark? Can you hear me?" I shook Dark's shoulders gently, but got no response other than a faint groan and a flutter of his eyelids.

"It'll be okay. I'll take you back to Anti. We can help you there." I teleported both of us back to Dark's house. Anti got a surprised look when he saw me carrying Dark bridal style.

"He was shot by some sort of dart. I don't know what was in it, but it really is messing with him." I told Anti as we hurried to the master bedroom, and I laid Dark down on the bed.

I pulled away the covers, then sat down next to Dark. His forehead was sweaty, and he was shaking. I handed Anti the dart and he glitched away to get some tests run on the contents, and I remained by Dark's side. I now could feel the guilt of failing to protect him when he protected me, and I was willing to bet that was how he had felt when he attacked me. Dark let out a pitiful moan, and I cradled his head to comfort him. I carded my fingers through his black, slightly wavy hair, and he settled down a little. He was still shaking, but not as violently. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye, but I was determined to comfort him. I continued running my fingers through his hair, and used the dark energy to pick up a towel and wet it. I set it on Dark's forehead, and he tensed for a moment, then relaxed again. Dark's eyelids were still fluttering weakly when Anti came back.

"Nerve toxin. Mildly effective on demons, but deadly to hosted demons." He declared sadly.

"Any way we can undo its effects?" I asked pleadingly.

"If we can coax out his fire, it may be able to take some of the brunt and allow him to live. Main issue with that plan is the fact that if he can't respond, then the fire has a hard time responding, too." Anti sighed.

"I may be able to help with that. Remember? I can take over his body. If I can talk to his fire, I may be able to help it come out and take on some of the toxin." I laid on the bed next to Dark and used my fingers to gently open his eyelids.

I stared into his eyes and told my soul to travel into his body. Suddenly, I was him. There wasn't exactly pain, just the inability to move. Yes, there was some discomfort, but not excessive amounts. I decided that I would try to talk to the fire as if it was Dark; sending it a telepathic signal for it to hear and understand.

Dark's fire? Can you hear me? I need to talk to you. I projected, hoping that the fire could understand me.

I saw a small flame appear in Dark's mind, and I smiled a little. Can you help me save Dark?

The flame flickered a little bit, then grew brighter.

I'll take that as a yes. I need you to take on some of the nerve toxin that is… I had to stop for a moment, killing Dark.

The flame grew brighter again, then did the thing I had seen happen earlier from a distance; it exited Dark's body and took on a humanlike shape. I let Dark's mind go and returned to my own body, then sat up to look the fire in the "eye". The fire was brighter from here than it had seemed from farther away, which made sense. I was still a little worried that it may have been affected by the dart that it had taken for me. It seemed a little weaker, but not terribly so. Anti was looking at it curiously, and I swatted him away, unsure of if the attention was embarrassing the fire. I was comforted when the fire gave a thumbs up.

"You know what you need to do?" I asked the fire, wanting Anti in on the conversation if the need came up. The fire gave a nod.

"Okay. Whenever you are ready…" I told the fire.

I really hope that this works. Anti said telepathically, as to not worry the fire.

I do too. I watched intently.

The fire seemed to be getting duller and duller, and it was losing it's form rapidly. Dark, however, was gaining a pinkish color back in his skin. It was making me more confident in the ability of the fire. Suddenly, it stuttered, then winked out, a little wisp of fire returning to Dark's limp form. I turned aside of me and rubbed Dark's scalp. He relaxed at my touch, and his eyelids stopped fluttering. He stopped sweating, and was no longer shaking. I took that as a good sign. I looked at Anti with a smile, and he gave a relieved grin back.

"I think he will be okay." I said, slumping over.

Dark stirred a little, and I turned back to him, running my hands through his hair once more. His eyes slowly slid open, and he grimaced a little. He tried to speak, but he must have been too weak still to be able to move much. I massaged his shoulder gently, hoping to comfort him, and he relaxed his muscles a bit.

"It's okay, Dark. You'll be okay." I tried to comfort him.

I knew from personal experience that being comforted, while giving a feeling of weakness, was appreciated from time to time. This was one of the few times I felt that Dark could benefit from comforting. He seemed to appreciate my touch, and I took pleasure in being able to calm him down. It gave me confidence that I was now part of the team. Anti sat down on the opposite side of the bed, and I noted a little bit of jealousy in his gaze. I wasn't deterred, however. I knew that I would be there for him if he needed it, too. Anti took Dark's hand in his, and rubbed his fingers along the bluish veins. Dark turned his eyes to me, and I smiled as sweetly as I could at him. He gave a weak grin back.

"You feeling okay?" I asked him, "Just think loudly."

Not as bad as I would expect from just gaining consciousness… What happened?

"You were hit with a dart filled with nerve toxin. You could have died." I said softly, still concerned about how close he had come to losing his host.

How did I make it? And what's wrong with my fire? It seems really… weak. Dark frowned a little, but his inability to move many muscles made it seem more like a sloppy grimace.

"Your fire took on most of the strain. It'll be weak for a while, I bet." Anti spoke for the first time in a while.

Oh. Okay.

"The only thing that matters is that you'll live." I told Dark, hoping that he would be able to relax.

"You had us really worried." Anti admitted, hanging his head a little.

"Yes. Yes, you did." I had to agree.

Dark had been trying to get his fire to recuperate, once he had healed on his own. It was not going as fast as he wanted. I felt bad for him, seeing as his fire was his strength. It gave a whole new meaning to the term "firepower". He spent day after day in the little training room he had built, trying to coax out the fire, trying to get it to gain strength. But it was too weak to do much, and it was almost in a coma; the fire wouldn't respond, no matter how much Dark tried to get it's attention. Occasionally, I would go in to the training room and find him crying in a corner, but he would usually push me away. It was beginning to make sense as to why most Firetwisters went insane. If the fire wouldn't respond, they would begin to get desperate.

I was really getting worried about Dark. Every day, he would become less and less social, and I was becoming less and less interested in trying to get him to communicate with us. One day, however, Dark called me over to his training room to show me something. At that point, I was still kind of annoyed at him, but I decided to give him some grace. I wandered over to meet him, and found him smiling, something I hadn't seen him do in a very long time.

"Guess what!" Dark exclaimed as soon as I was within earshot.

"What?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's back!" Dark cheered, a small flame appearing in his palm.

"Awesome!" I smiled, knowing that the old Dark was finally back.

"I can't wait until it is fully recovered, but I guess I should be happy that the fire is back." Dark seemed amazed.

"Yep. Well, keep up the good work." I told him, walking out and closing the door behind me. I nearly ran into a surprised Anti.

"Whassup?" He asked.

"The fire is back." I informed him, and he grinned.

"I was worried that it would end badly."

"So was I. But his fire saved him. His fire is back. His fire is the best thing Dark will ever want or have."

I set down the computer and sigh. It is finally done. The story of how I became a real demon. I will be so happy to look back in the future and see what I wrote. I am Thana, and this… this is my story.

\-- THE END --

That is the end, dear readers. That is, unless you give me enough feedback… that is yet to be determined. Did you enjoy this? If so, favorite and comment. Be sure to check out the Bass Beast's work, and I will see all of you in the next FANFICTIONNNNNNNNNN!!!

~ironavenger22


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